Feeling Lonely
by xXBlackBerryRosexX
Summary: Taylor has gone off to medical school and left Chad feeling lonely. PLEASE R&R! Rating and genre have been changed because of language and content.
1. Finally in College!

Chapter 1

Troyella and Zekepay Reunion

Normal POV

"I can't believe I am actually in college," exclaimed Sharpay.

"Dido," Gabriella said.

I bet you are wondering why Shar and Gabi are hanging out. Well, as you know, Shar is dating Zeke, who is best friends with Troy, who Gabriella is dating. So they became really close. The only thing is after graduation, Zeke and Troy went off to basketball camp. Now it's the first day of college, and Shar and Gabi haven't seen or heard from their boyfriends ALL summer. It's free period so Shar and Gabi are chilling at the local Starbucks.

Gabriella was just looking around and happened to spot two guys three tables down that looked a lot like Troy and Zeke.

"Hey Shar, check those guys out over there, don't they look a lot like Troy and Zeke?" asked Gabi as she pointed at them.

"Yeah they do," said Shar as she looked at them.

"Let's get closer," said Gabi as she pulled Shar off her seat.

Gabi and Shar listened to them from behind a nearby wall.

"Man, it's so loud in here, I can't hear but so much," complained Gabi.

"Well, what can you hear?" said Shar who was behind Gabi.

"I heard Zeke say something about you and Troy say something about me," said Gabi.

"C'mon," Shar said as she grabbed Gabi.

"Uh, what's this about Shar and Gabi?" asked Shar.

"Just how much we missed you," Zeke said as he grabbed Shar and dipped her (**A/N: Just like Zac did on Suite Life**).

Shar giggled and kissed Zeke.

"I missed you so much, Troy," said Gabi smiling ear to ear.

"I missed you too," Troy said as he kissed Gabi.

**A/N: This story is dedicated to allfree2bme and CO.ZE.TY.OMI. Love you guys!**


	2. Not Fair

Chapter 2

Not Fair

Normal POV

Phone rings

Chad wakes up to the sound of the ringer and the light from the sun.

He slides to the end of the bed and answers the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey man, it's Troy."

"What's up? I still have three more hours of sleep left before I have to get ready for class."

"Just letting you know that Zeke and I saw Gabi and Sharpay at Starbucks."

"_Great_."

"What's up with you?"

"It's just not fair! You and Zeke were only away from your girls for a summer. I gotta be away from Taylor for God knows how long!"

"I know how you feel man, being away from Gabi was crap, and that was only a summer, you know what why don't you write Tay a letter, and we'll come over for comfort."

"Okay, when will y'all be over?"

"Uh… around 4:00, can you hold off 'til then?"

Chad looked at his watch. It said 2:00.

"I think so."

"Okay, see you later."

Chad started writing as soon as Troy hung up.

"No, that sounds dumb," Chad thought as he balled up the note and threw it in the trash.

He did that for an hour until he finally came up with the final product:

_Dear Taylor,_

_I am missing you like crap! I hope you're doing better than I am, because I am a total WRECK without you. If I'm away from you for more than an hour, I can't stop thinking about you, so imagine how I've been doing for over three months. But enough about me, let's talk about you. How's medical school? Is it hard? Scratch that dumb question, you're a freaking straight "A" student. Have you met any new friends? I hope you haven't met any guys, because that would just make being without you worse. I love you so much._

_Sincerely,_

_Chad_

When he finished the letter, it was 3:05. He needed something to do to pass the time away so he decided to go to The Flower Shoppe and buy some roses to go in Taylor's package. When he got back Troy and the gang had already come in Troy still had a key.

"Hey guys!" said Chad.

"Hey!" screamed the gang as they went to go give him a hug.

"What you got there?" asked Gabi.

"Oh, just some roses to go in Taylor's package along with the letter," answered Chad.

"Oh, how sweet!" exclaimed Gabi plopping down on the couch dreamingly.

"I know, Zeke how come you never get me flowers?" whined Sharpay plopping down next to her.

"I've planned to but when I get there I never know which ones you'd like," explained Zeke standing over Sharpay.

"How about on Saturday we go over to The Flower Shoppe and pick out some flowers, is it a date?" asked Sharpay excitedly looking at Zeke.

"It's a date," said Zeke kissing her on the cheek.

"I need to keep you guys around more often, entertainment always gets me feeling good," joked Chad.

"Speaking of entertainment I snagged five tickets to go see Dreamgirls! You wanna come?" said Troy who was standing over Gabi.

"I don't know," said Chad.

"Please come or else we'll give the fifth ticket to Ryan, and all he'll do during the movie is sing along to all of the songs," said Gabi.

"Hey, that's a classic musical, Mom's seen it…" said Sharpay.

"THIRTEEN TIMES!" yelled everyone except Chad and Sharpay.

"We know," said Troy," so what so you say?"

"Since you're begging I'll do it," said Chad, "Plus Beyonce is a total hottie!"

"Chad!" yelled everyone.

"What, Beyonce was my dream girl before Taylor, she knows that," said Chad.

They all laughed as they left for the theater.

A/N: Did you like this chapter? I did! Has anyone seen Dreamgirls yet? I haven't. All reasons to review!


	3. Ideas Please?

thanks to all of you who reviewd my story. I really appreciate it. But this next set of reviews I'm gonna appreciate more than ever. I need ideas!  
T 


	4. You Need A Vacation!

Chapter 4 You Need A Vacation!  
Chad's POV "The movie was great wasn't it?" said Troy.  
"Yeah," said everyone but me.  
"What's wrong man you didn't like the movie?" asked Troy.  
"No, the movie was great, but all this talk of love made me think of Taylor," I said.  
"Awww," said Shar and Gabi.  
I giggled slightly.  
"Well, I personally thought the movie was great. Jennifer Hhudson has a BEAUTIFUL voice," said Gabi.  
"She did, and Beyonce sung Listen beautifully," said Shar.  
"Yeah," said the gang.  
"You know what you need to do man?" said Troy.  
"Don't go there again," I said knowing the answer.  
"You need a vacation! How about... New York?" said Troy.  
"Man, if I visit Tay it's only gonna make matters worse," I said.  
"Nobody said anything about visiting Taylor, but now that you mention it"  
"No," I said cutting him off.  
"What if we come with you, you don't think it's hard for me not having my best friend around?"said Gabi.  
"Yeah," said the gang.  
"I don't know," I said.  
"Pwease," said the gang.  
"Fine, fine, but school literally just started how in the world are we gonna get out?" I asked.  
"I've got an idea," said Shar.  
"What?" i asked.  
"I'm on the journalism team right?" said Shar.  
"Right," we said.  
"An I've got a report due next Friday right?" asked Shar.  
"Right," we said.  
"So?" she asked.  
"You can write a report on visiting New York city! Shar you're awesome!" I said hugging her.  
"Man, there's just one more problem," I said.  
"What?" the gang asked.  
"How are we gonna pay for a week's trip to New York?" I said.  
"I'm sure if I tell Mom it's for school she'll pay atleast half," said Gabi.  
"And I'll ask Dad for the other half," Troy said.  
"OK, then it's settled this Friday... we're going to New York!" I yelled.  
"Yeah!" screamed the gang.

Friday My mom called the roll:  
"Sharpay"  
"Here"  
"Ryan"  
"Present"  
"Gabi"  
"Present"  
"Kelsi"  
"Present"  
"Jason"  
"Here"  
"Troy"  
"Here"  
"Zeke"  
"Here"  
"Okay is there any body's name mom didn't call?" I asked.  
"No"  
"Ok, Ok, just makin' sure," I said.  
"Alright everybody we're off to the airport, does anybody need to use the restroom"  
"No, Mrs. Danforth," the gang sighed.  
"Sorry guys, my mom's use to pre-k students," I whispered.  
"What's that Chad?" asked my mom.  
"Nothing, mom," I said.

At the airport

"Thanks mom," I said.  
"You're welcome baby. Have fun kids," said my mom.  
"We will Mrs. Danforth!" yelled the gang.  
"Alrighty," Mom said as she drove away from the airport.  
After we boarded the plane, that is where the sorrow began.  
Jason sat with Kelsi, Shar sat with Zeke, and Troy sat with Gabi.  
Which left me sitting in a seat by myself.  
When everyone had fallen asleep, I was still awake thinking of Taylor.  
When I had even thought of falling asleep the plane was landing.  
"Troy," I whispered as I pat him on the shoulder, "Troy, wake up"  
"What, man," he said with a yawn and a stretch.  
"The plane is landing, fasten your seatbelt," I said.  
"Gabi," he said tapping Gabs on the shoulder, "Gabi, wake up"  
"Huh?" she said yawning.  
"The plane is landing," said Troy.  
"Oh, I'll wake up Shar and Zeke," said Gabi.  
That whole process went on until everybody was awake.  
When we got off the plane everybody was exhausted so we headed straight for the hotel. 


	5. At the Hotel

Chapter 5

At The Hotel

Chad's POV

"Oh snap!" we yelled as we entered the hotel.

"This is like nothing I've ever seen!" yelled Gabi.

"Ugh, I've seen better," said Sharpay.

"See, why do you always have to ruin a moment," I said.

Shar even had to laugh.

The hotel had a fountain in the center of the lobby, a crystal gold chandelier on the ceiling, and everything was the shade of gold, even the front desk.

I heard the sound of rustling under the desk and I rung the bell on the desk and said, "Excuse me."

An attractive black-haired girl quickly shot up from behind the desk.

She giggled, moved a strand of hair from in front of her eye, and said," My apologies, how may I help you?"

"We'd like three rooms please," I answered.

'One room for Shar, Zeke, and Ryan, a room for Troy, Gabi, and me, and a room for Jason and Kelsi.'

"Two beds per room or three?" the black-haired girl asked.

"Which is cheaper?" I asked.

She giggled again and said, "Two."

"Then we'll take it," I laughed.

"OK," she said.

"You know what, make it two for two of the rooms and one for the other room," I said thinking of Jason and Kelsi's room.

"You got it. How long are you planning on staying?" she asked.

"6 days," I said.

"Would you like to pay for you're stay up front or?" she asked.

"Up front," I said.

"OK, that'll be… $55.00 please," she said.

'Luckily Coach Bolton gave us just enough to pay for the hotel.'

"Here you go," I said handing the money to the black-haired girl.

"Enjoy your stay at the Holiday Inn," she smiled.

"Thank you, do you manage this place?" I asked as she handed me the cards.

"No, I just work at the front desk, why?" she asked tilting her head to the right.

"Well at most hotels I go to the manager works at the front desk, and you seem a little young," I said hoping she would tell me how old she was.

"No, I'm only twenty, I go to NY med across the street, I'm just working here 'til I get my PhD," she answered.

"Cool, my girlfriend goes there!" I said.

"Awesome, what's her name?" she asked.

"Taylor McKessie," I said.

"You must be Chad! She talks about you all the time we became pretty close while going there!" she exclaimed.

"Cool!" I said.

"Umm, excuse me, but can you hurry this up before our first day ends," said Troy.

"Y'all go ahead, I'll be up in a sec," I said handing Troy the cards.

"You better," he said.

"Just go!" I laughed.

"So anyway what's your name?" I asked her.

"Mikayla Bartholomew, but you can call me Mikki, that's what Taylor calls me," she said.

"OK, later Mikki," I said heading towards the elevator.

"Tay was right, he is cute," I heard her whisper.

"What?" I giggled.

"Nothing," she said.

I tried not to giggle.

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Mikki Z.E. (CO.ZE.TY.OMI2). REVIEW!!!!!!!**


	6. Reunited and it feels so good!

Chapter 6

Chad's POV

I got up to Gabi, Troy, and me's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I heard Troy yell.

"Chad," I said.

He opened the door and he was wearing only his boxers.

"Ew, cover that up, nobody wants to see that," I said.

"Yeah, yeah, Mr. Flirty McFlirtengobber," he said as I walked in.

"I was not flirting with her," I said.

"Yeah, whatever," said Troy.

"Where's Gabi," I asked.

"Her, Shar, and Kelsi went shopping," said Troy.

"Oh, no," I said.

"That's what I thought," said Troy.

"So what are we supposed to do until they get back?" I asked.

"Well, we could… go visit Tay and that girl at NY med," he suggested.

"That girl's name is Mikayla, and not 'til everybody's here," I said.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" said Troy.

"Wait," I said.

Three hours later

"Man, I'm going to visit Tay," said Troy getting his jacket and his keys.

"Fine, fine, her class should be finished almost so we should be able to take her home with us," I said getting my jacket.

"Exactly what I wanted to hear, now come on," he said.

At NY med

"C'mon, shhh," said Troy.

Taylor must have been teaching a project or something because she was standing in front of the class as the teacher sat on the side and watched.

"The history of hospitals goes back to the Mayo brothers and," she noticed us and screamed.

We waved.

"Oh my goodness, what are you guys doing here?" she yelled.

"Ms. McKessie, this is not appropriate, gentlemen the class is about to end in fifteen minutes, why don't you just wait outside the door," said the teacher.

"Yes ma'am, bye Taylor," I said.

Mikki waved.

"Bye, Mikki," I said.

Fifteen minutes later

"Thank you, Ms. McKessie, wonderful presentation," said the teacher.

"Thank you, Mrs. Towner," said Taylor as she grabbed Mikki and walked out of the classroom.

"Hey baby, what are you doing here?" she asked as she hugged me.

"I'm here for a week doing a project," I said.

"That's great," she said giving me a quick peck.

"Hey, what about me?" asked Troy.

"Hi Troy," she said as she hugged him.

"So you've met Mikki at the Holiday Inn, right?" she asked pointing her thumb towards Mikayla.

"Yeah, hey," I said to Mikki.

"Hey," she waved.

"So where's Shar, Kelsi, and Gabi?" she asked.

"Shopping," Troy and I said in unison.

"Oh, so Mikki, you've got the day off right?" asked Taylor.

"Yeah," said Mikki.

"Why don't you hang out with us, if it's ok with the guys," asked Tay.

"Sure," said Troy and I.

"No really, I can't interfere, you haven't seen your friends in months, y'all should catch up," said Mikki.

"But I really want you to come, please?" pouted Taylor.

"Fine, okay, okay," laughed Mikki.

At the Hotel Rooms

"Tay, get behind me," I said.

"Okay, said Tay.

I knocked on our room door.

"Come in!" yelled Gabi.

I opened the door.

"Hey Chad, Troy, Mikki," said Gabi.

"I think you're forgetting someone," I said taking Taylor from behind me.

"Taylor!!!" screamed Gabi.

"Hey Gabi!" laughed Taylor as she hugged her.

"What is going on I thought I heard," said Shar.

"Taylor!" she screamed as she spotted her.

"Hey Shar!" Taylor said as she hugged Shar.

"Shar what is going on?" said Ryan.

He spotted Taylor.

"Hey!" he said as he hugged her.

This process went on until everybody reunited with Tay.

"We missed you," said everyone.

"I missed you guys too," said Tay.

"But nobody missed you more than Chad," said Gabi.

"Yeah," said the gang.

"Really?" asked Tay.

"Of course," I said as I kissed her.

She put her hand on my cheek and deepened the kiss.

"God, get a room!" yelled Troy.

We all laughed.

"Hey, did you ever get my letter?" I asked.

"The one with the roses?" asked Tay.

Nodded.

"Yes, don't ever do that to me again I almost cried my eyes out," said Tay.

We laughed again.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," said Taylor.

We kissed.


	7. WRITER'S BLOCK

**I need ideas my friends! I am totally on Writer's Block!**

**Love,**

**T**


	8. Elijah

Mikki and I waved goodbye to everyone as we headed to NY med. When I walked in, I ran into someone and caused me and that person to drop all of our things.

"I am so terribly sorry," I said as I picked up my things and some of theirs.

"Here you go," I said as I came up and realized that the person I ran into was an attractive Caucasian person with a brown low cut.

"Um, thanks. I'm sorry about that. It was my fault, I wasn't paying attention," he said.

"No need to apologize. I wasn't paying any more attention than you were," I said.

He smiled and said, "I'm Elijah."

"Taylor," I smiled as I shook his hand.

"So… I guess I'll see you around," he said.

"Yeah, um, what class do you have next?" I asked.

"Uh," he said as he took out his schedule, "Mrs. Towner."

"Us too," I said.

"Cool, then I'll see you in class," he smiled.

"Kay," I waved.

I turned to look at Mikki and she gave me an "ooh" look.

"What?" I asked.

"You like him," said Mikki.

"No I don't!" I yelled.

"OK well maybe you don't like him but you think he's cute," she said.

"Not to mention sweet," I said, "but I love Chad."

"This can't be good," she said.

"Would you chill? Nothing will go on between me and Elijah," I said.

"Let's pray so," she said.

**A/N: What should happen next guys? Let me know!  
T **


	9. Slam Poetry

I walked into class and saw Elijah sitting at the seat next to mine. He turned around and smiled. "Hey," he whispered.

I waved and smiled back.

I walked over to my seat and sat down.

"Hello, as you can see, I am NOT Mrs. Towner. I am your substitute Mr. Sumler but if you want you can call me Rick or Mr. Rick, what ever you like," a man said.

"You came on an interesting day, Eli," I whispered.

"Eli, I like that, and I guess I did," he whispered back.

I smiled.

"OK, I know this is a history class but I specialize in poetry so today we're having a Slam Poetry contest. Who wants to be first?" asked Rick.

"I'll be first," said Eli.

I was shocked so my mouth dropped and then when I saw him smile at me it formed into a smile.

"OK, what's your name?" Rick asked.

"Elijah, sir."

"OK first, don't call me sir; cuz sir is for those old played out teachers. And that ain't me."

"Okayyy."

"And second would you like a nickname Elijah?"

"Naw, I'm cool."

"Ok, go ahead."

**Pretty, brown eyes**

**Gorgeous brunette hair**

**I may be white chocolate **

**But I'm not hating on the dark chocolate**

**You are beautiful**

**One of the best I've seen**

**You are my chocolate queen**

"Thank you."

There was a thunderous applause.

"Good job, Elijah," said Rick as he clapped.

I couldn't stop smiling because I knew he was talking about me, but I didn't want to lead him on so I stopped as soon as I could.

He sat back down and smiled at me.

"G-g-good job, Eli."

"Thanks."

Bell rings

"Well I guess we can call this history class now cuz this was the shortest Slam Poetry contest in history. I guess we'll finish this whenever we can. You just gotta give Mrs. Towner a good word about me," said Rick.

"Ok," everybody said.

Ten Minutes Later

Eli caught up with Mikki and me as we were walking to our next class.

"I guess I'll see you around then, huh guys?"

"Yeah," Mikki and I said.

"Bye Taylor."

"Bye," I smiled.

He smiled as he turned around and sprinted to his next class.

"Ooh, girl! You know that poem was meant for you right. He's got it bad for you!" Mikki exclaimed.

"Mikki, you're only making matters worse. I might like him too. But if I act on it, Chad is bound to find out and I just can't do that to him. It would shatter his heart into a thousand pieces."

"Ooh, love triangle. This is just like one of my soaps!"

"Mikki! Still not helping!"

"I'm just sayin."

**A/N: Juicy right! What should happen next?**

**T**


	10. I'm Not Jealous

A/N: Terribly sorry for the delay but hey, better late then never. Well…here it is! Enjoy!

At Lunch

I sat at a table with Mikki and a couple of my friends from Chemistry and chitchatted.

A few minutes later Eli walked up to our table and asked, "May I sit here?"

"Yeah, sure," we said. He sat in between Mikki and me. "How's it goin'?" Eli asked. There was a series of good, fines, and okays. "That's good," he said, "Uh, Tay…I was wondering…would you like to… go out with me?" "Um…I'm sorry Eli. I can't," I said. "Oh…may I ask why?" he asked. "Because-"I started but I was cut off by an unexpected response from Chad. "Cuz she's got a boyfriend, man. And you're looking at him." "Tay didn't tell me she had a boyfriend," Eli said. "She probably wasn't expecting you to ask her out," said Chad. "Oh, I see," Eli said shooting a glare at me. "Chad, what are you doing here? And why are you acting so mean?" I said. "You left your notebook at the hotel and I came to give it to you. The better question is why this chump is here flirting wit my girl?" he said. "Hey, who you callin' a-"Eli said looking bout ready to slap the spit out of Chad. "He's a friend of mine," I said. "Hn," said Chad, "Well here's your notebook. I'll see ya at the hotel. Bye Tay, Mikki, Shay, Brit, Tina," He paused then looked at Eli evilly before walking off. Eli shot another glare at me before walking off as well. "I knew this couldn't be good," said Mikki. I buried my face in my hands.

At The Hotel

I knocked on our suite.

Chad opened the door.

"Hey baby," I said.

"Hey," he said.

I walked into the suite, dropped my bag by the door, and kicked off my shoes.

I sat on the bed, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I just don't trust that guy, whatever his name is," said Chad.

"His name's Eli and you shouldn't be jealous baby," I said.

"I'm not jealous," he pouted.

"Yes you are, but I can cure it," I said leaning in and giving him a warm, sweet, passionate kiss.

"It helps a little," Chad smiled, "Let's try again."

He leaned in and gave me a longer, more passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my hands through his curly fro.

Just then, we heard a knock on the door.

"Dang," Chad said as he got up, walked over to the door, answered it, and saw that it was…

**Yeah, I know short and a wack cliffy but hey… no time at all. Sorry! No flames plz!**


	11. I Forgot

Dear Readers,

I know this is gunna sound dumb but I forgot who was gunna be at the door for Chapter 11…any ideaz?

Love,

T


	12. Guess Who's Bringing Drama?

**A/N: Hey, party people! Guess what? I got some newfound free time and ideas so I'm finally updating! YAY! Thunderous applause! Enjoy…**

He leaned in and gave me a longer, more passionate kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ran my hands through his curly fro.

Just then, we heard a knock on the door.

"Dang," Chad said as he got up, walked over to the door, answered it, and saw that it was…Eli.

"What the hell are you doing here, chump?" Chad yelled, causing Tay to jump up and find out what's going on.

"Chad, no, don't hurt him," Tay said, putting her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Yeah, man. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm actually here to stop trouble," Eli said.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked, skeptically.

"May I come in?" Eli asked.

Chad hesitated, but then moved out of the way to let him in.

"Oh my God!" Chad suddenly said, grabbing Tay protectively.

"Chad, what is-," Tay started.

Eli suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it towards them.

Tay screamed.

"Relax, Tay. I'm not here for you! I have to be with you and if it means killing this man so I can get to you, so be it!" Eli said.

"Dude, chill. Put down the gun. You need to cool yourself down, so you can realize how ridiculous this is!" Chad said.

"Nothing's ridiculous about love!" Eli yelled.

"Love? Dude you've known her for three days!" Chad yelled.

"HEY! There's such thing as love at first sight!" Eli yelled.

"NO!" Tay yelled, "Eli I can't let you do this! If you take Chad away…you…you take away my soul! And there's no point in being with someone without a soul! If you kill Chad…you might as well kill me too."

"Uh…I suppose you're right Tay. Look I'm sorry…I just I really love you Tay…but it seems we can't be more than friends," Eli said lowering the gun.

"Yeah...can you be cool with that?" Tay asked.

"Hmm…no," Eli said shooting Chad once just below his heart.

"OH MY GOD CHAD!" Tay said, rushing to his side. He was still conscious but bleeding pretty badly.

"Dangit! Bad aim!" Eli said, aiming to shoot again.

"NO!" Tay said trying to take the gun from Eli.

"Tay stop!" Eli said.

The gun went off…

**A/N: Better cliffy. Find out what happens. Will Chad be okay and what happened when the gun went off?**

**Here's a preview…**

"**OH MY GOD! RYAN GET IN HERE!" Sharpay yells, already dialing 911 on her cell.**

"**What Shar?" Ryan yelled running into Chad, Gabi, and Troy's room.**

"**OH MY GOD!!" Ryan yelled.**

**Shar was in tears as she saw Chad laying there motionless.**

"**It better not be too late!" she yelled.**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**

**Luffles a plenty,**

**T**


	13. Is That How The Story Ends!

Sharpay ran as fast as she could manage in her stilettos over to Troy, Chad, and Gabi's hotel room.

"What's going on in here, guys? I heard-"Sharpay started to yell, but trailed off when she reached the doorway and saw a bloody mess that she identified as Chad, an also bloody, crying Taylor slumped over him.

"OH MY GOD! RYAN GET IN HERE!" Sharpay yells, already dialing 911 on her cell.

"What's up, Shari?" Ryan yelled running into Chad, Gabi, and Troy's room.

"OH MY GOD!!" Ryan yelled, stumbling and almost losing his balance at the shock of the horrifying scene.

Sharpay was in tears as she stared at Chad laying there motionless under a hysterical Taylor.

"It better not be too late!" She yelled.

"_**Hello?" Sharpay said into the phone.**_

"_**New York Emergency, how may we help you?" A female dispatcher answered.**_

"_**Please, just get ambulance here pronto, my friend Chad is bleeding heavily… and…he's…he's not moving…Ryan check and see if he's breathing!" Sharpay stammered, struggling to make the words that came out of her mouth make sense.**_

Ryan regained his composure and ran over to Taylor and Chad.

He tried to move Taylor away from Chad so he could check his breathing.

"I can't, Shar! Tay won't let go of him!" Ryan yelled, still tugging at Taylor's distraught body.

"_**What do I do? We can't get his girlfriend Taylor to get off of him! She's distraught and doesn't want to let him go!" Sharpay yelled hysterically, losing hold of her sangfroid.**_

"_**Ma'am, you've got to get Taylor off of Chad because if his airway is still functioning, she could be cutting it off," The dispatcher warned.**_

"_**All right, keep trying Ryan; I'm coming over to help!"**_

"_**Now, ma'am, stay on the line and stay calm, I'll talk you through it and try to help you get her off of him. Meanwhile, I'm sending an ambulance right now."**_

"_**Thank you! Thank you so much!"**_

"_**No problem. Now keep tugging!"**_

Sharpay obeyed the dispatcher, put her phone on speaker before laying it on the floor next to her, and kept tugging along with Ryan trying to remove Taylor from Chad's body.

"**Now try talking to her! Tell her what she needs to do, bring her back to reality! She's obviously losing touch with it! And try to get her to tell you exactly what happened!"**

"Taylor, honey, you've got to let go of Chad. I know you don't want to, but he's not going anywhere, as long as you let go of him. Ambulance is on the way and whatever airway he has left, you're cutting off by holding him like that," Sharpay told Taylor, as nurturing and soothingly as she could manage.

"But he'll die, Shar! He'll die and it'll be all my fault! I can't let him go!" Taylor cried.

"How is it your fault, honey?" Sharpay asked.

"Eli! He-" Taylor started to wail.

"Eli?" Sharpay, Ryan, and the dispatcher asked simultaneously.

"**Who's Eli?"**

"This guy who goes to school with Taylor and eventually developed a crush on her, and therefore, butted heads with Chad. Is he here?" Sharpay pressed.

"Yes…and…no," Taylor said miserably, lifting off of Chad just a little, and hanging her head low.

"What do you mean yes and no, honey?" Sharpay asked.

"He's here but…but…I…I…" Taylor trailed off.

"You what?" Sharpay asked suspicion coated on her voice.

"I…I killed him!" Taylor screamed and dropped to her knees beside Chad and curled up in fetal position.

"What?!" All three of the listeners responded.

"Oh my God…" Sharpay said, no longer able to stay calm and crawling over to huddle in Ryan's arms.

"**Where is Eli and what happened?" **

"He's-"

Suddenly, police and EMTs rushed into the hotel room.

"What happened in here?" A police officer asked.

The officer looked around the room and caught sight of the crying and huddled Sharpay and Ryan, then the distraught Taylor rocking in fetal position, then the bleeding body of Chad.

His eyes widened and he then saw Sharpay's sequined pink cell phone next to Chad's body and picked it up.

"Hello? Hello?" He asked frantically into the phone.

When he got no answer he looked at it.

Connection has been lost read across the phone.

He turned to his men. "What are you standing here for? Take care of that kid!"

The EMTs rushed over to Chad and started cleaning him up and checking his airway.

"His breathing is weak, but still there," One of them informed.

"Which one of you knows what happened here?" The police officer asked.

Sharpay and Ryan looked at the man, then at each other, and pointed to the still frantic Taylor curled up in a ball.

"Ma'am, can you let me know what happened here?" The police officer said to Taylor.

Taylor just stayed silent and wide-eyed, continuing to rock back and forth.

"Ma'am, are you responsible for this young man lying over there?" The police officer asked calmly.

That snapped Tay right out of it, and she almost looked like herself again. The expression on her face that used to be scared and distraught and switched to anger as soon as the officer mentioned "Are you responsible?" and "Chad" in the same context.

Taylor watched the EMTs take Chad out of the room on a stretcher and a flash of anguish showed on her eyes before anger chased it away.

"No! No! I tried to save him! He's my boyfriend of 3 and a ½ years!"

"Well then, unless you can tell me exactly what happened here, we'll have to take you in as a suspect," The officer warned.

That **really** pushed Tay to the edge.

"NO! ELI DID THIS TO CHAD! NOT ME!" Taylor shouted at him.

"Who is Eli, and is he here?" The officer asked, totally unaffected by her outburst.

Taylor glared at the officer hatefully before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Eli _**used**_ to be a friend of mine from school who developed a crush on me and butted heads with Chad. He came over here and shot him just below the heart."

"Do you have proof?" The officer asked.

Taylor glared at the man again, looking as if she was ready to rip his big head off. "Sir…go over there beside the TV and I guarantee you that you will find all of the evidence you need."

"Very well," The officer walked over beside the TV as Taylor had instructed and looked at Eli sprawled out on the floor with a gun lying on top of his chest and a bleeding gun wound in the center of his chest.

The officer turned around and looked at Taylor. "Are you trying to tell me that this man committed suicide, ma'am?"

"No. I'm_ trying_ to tell you that he shot my baby but didn't exactly aim correctly. He was_ going_ to try again, so I tried to take the gun from him, and it went off."

"Heh. So you didn't just kill him for shooting your beloved boyfriend?" The officer snorted.

"No! I would never!" Taylor screamed.

"That's what all the ladies say," The officer said.

"Sir, I do not appreciate the way you are accusing our friend. If Taylor says she didn't kill Eli on purpose and he killed himself on accident, then we believe her. And your opinion doesn't count, because you don't know her," Sharpay told the officer.

"Furthermore, we heard Taylor screaming "Oh my God, Chad," and "No!" before the gun went off which is why we ran in here in the first place. Now, with all due respect, if that's not enough evidence for you, I don't know how you became an officer, sir."

The officer stared for a long time in thought. "All right. Let's just get to the hospital and get this kid in a morgue. You will not be considered a suspect, ma'am, in neither this boy's death or your boyfriend's."

"Thank you, officer," Taylor said.

The officer started to walk out of the hotel room.

"Oh and officer?" Taylor called to him.

"Yes?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Apology accepted," Taylor smiled.

**A/N: I told you I'd get an update in all my stories before the week was over and this is the first one! I hope you liked how everything turned out! And don't worry, it isn't over just yet. **

**Love ya and thanks for your incredible patience,**

**T**


	14. So Glad You're Okay

That terrifying scene replayed in Taylor's mind as she sat in the waiting room squeezing Gabi's hand and wrapped in Troy's arms for support and comfort. What was she gonna do without her baby? How could she have jeopardized everything for some other guy she barely knew? She felt stupid, worthless, hopeless, and stomach sick. She just wanted to crawl into a ball and die.

All of her friends sat with her in the waiting room with looks of concern and terror on their faces. Sadness, confusion, fear, but most of all hope flew around in the air around them.

Then Dr. Holloway walked into the waiting room. "Taylor?"

She let go of her best friend and her boyfriend's best friend and walked over to the doctor she hoped was saving Chad's life. "Yes, Doctor?"

"I have good news and bad news, dear. The good news is Chad is stable and he will be fine."

"Yes!" She rejoiced. Her friends also smiled and cheered.

"But the bad news is, Chad will have to stay here at the hospital for a couple weeks to recover and he may need surgery."

Taylor's face fell and she was silent.

Gabi then stood up and walked over to Taylor with Troy close behind her.

"That's not so bad," She said.

"Yeah Tay, at least he's doing okay. And the surgery may not even be necessary," Troy seconded.

"Exactly, Ms. McKessie. The surgery is just precautionary. The bullet came very close to Chad's heart and we want to make sure none of the tissue or organs were damaged. And with further examination, we may find that he doesn't need it. But he seems to be doing very well. He's responding and breathing on his own. And the wound is actually quite minor," Dr. Holloway reassured her.

"Can I see him?" Taylor asked the doctor.

"Absolutely. You all may. But one at a time," Dr. Holloway told them.

Taylor said no more and walked towards Chad's room with Dr. Holloway.

He opened the door and left the two alone. Taylor looked at her boyfriend, inspecting every inch of his body. His eyes were closed, his curly fro pulled back into a neat ponytail, and save for his attire, everything seemed normal. But Taylor knew better. She walked over to his bed and gently pulled up his shirt to reveal the bloody bandage on his chest just over his heart. She pulled it down before the tears began to fall.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." She said in barely a whisper. "It's because of me that you have a bullet wound on your chest. It's because of me that you're stuck in this hospital for two weeks. And it's because of me that you may have to have surgery."

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "I'm so sorry I ever acknowledged Eli. It's because of me that he shot you. He got attached and believed that we had something there. I want you to know there was nothing, baby. It's all about you and only you."

She buried her face in Chad's stomach, careful not to touch his wound, and just cried. After a couple of minutes, she felt him shift under her. She rose up and looked at him. His eyes started to flutter open.

"Baby?" Taylor asked.

"Tay?" His voice was a little raspy.

"Baby! You're awake!" Taylor enthused, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Yeah, I am." Chad said looking a little concerned. He gripped her chin between his thumb and index finger and scrutinized her face. "Have you been crying?"

"Yes," Taylor answered sheepishly.

"And why?"

"I just feel so guilty."

Chad was genuinely confused. "For what?"

"For all of this. I'm the reason you're here. If i never met Eli, or even spoken to him, you wouldn't be here." She started to cry again.

"Taylor," Chad said grasping his girlfriend's face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs, "Don't you dare blame yourself for this."

"But it's my fault."

"No. That chump was psycho. That is in no way your fault."

"But-"

"No buts, Taylor. The important thing is that chump missed and I'm here. And I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon, alright? I love you, Taylor."

"I love you too, Chad. So much. And I'm so glad you're okay."

"Me too, babe. Me too."

**A/N: Hey guys. I just wanted to ensure everybody that Chad was alright. I know you all were worried. Sorry for the super duper long wait, but i don't have a working computer at home, so now that I'm in Alabama with my best friend for a couple weeks, I'm trying to update my stories. I love you all, thanks for all the feedback and the support, and favoriting. And gah, I just adore you guys. 3 I'm gonna try and update this again soon. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though. :]**


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